6 Tips to Mix Old and New Christmas Decor

So many of us, (I’m putting my hand up here) have a collection of Christmas decorations that span years. Sometimes even decades. The ornaments are often sentimental and important to us, so we want to include them on our tree or in our decorating at Christmas time. But hanging the collage of baubles your kids made when they were five or putting out the huge Santa toy you were given as a child might not go with the aesthetic you are trying to create. Likewise, that garland you bought years ago might be perfectly good but you want to freshen it up. So how do you successfully mix old and new Christmas decor and not end up with your house looking like an op shop? Below are my top tips to help you out.

Mix Old and New Decorations in a Display

I have many sentimental decorations that were given to me over the years by my children and other children I’ve taught in my time as a teacher. Some of them are not pretty. Okay. A lot of them are not pretty. But they do mean something, especially since they were made with love. To mix these in, I group these decorations in a collection, making a cute display. This might be on a tray, in a bowl on the coffee table or in a glass jar. I might hang them from a shelf on the dresser, creating a feature of them. Another idea I’ve used in the past is to put these decorations as part of my garland up the stairs or on a little tree of their own. I can still see the decorations but they aren’t part of the main theme I’m going for. This year, I made a new ‘snow globe’ using a round vase. I put the children’s bead ornaments in it and then paired it with a Santa snowglobe I’ve had for years. More snowglobes would look even more effective but this gives a fresh spin to old decorations.

Organise Items by Colour when you Mix Old and New Christmas Decor

Every year when it’s time to decorate I get out the couple of crates I have and lay them out in front of me. In my head, I have already decided on a theme and have maybe purchased some new ribbon or made a garland to match the theme. So, I look through my old decorations for colours that coordinate with my theme for the year. I never use all my old decorations. Then, I hang the chosen decorations on the tree or display them elsewhere with new decorations to create an overall scheme. This year, I took all my red and white ornaments, including some clay ones my students made and mixed them with new red baubles from a $2 shop. To give my old ornaments a fresh look, I added ribbon to my tree in red tartan. It’s still vintage but has that on-trend look

Just as choosing a colour theme looks lovely, so can going all in. Another way to mix old and new Christmas decor is to put everything on the tree and be as bold and colourful as you can. If you put all the decorations on the tree, the randomness of the collection can look amazing. In the tree below, only colourful vintage ornaments have been used. The tree is quite structural so the ornaments are enhanced even more. In this case, the tree is new but the ornaments are old. You don’t need a ‘theme’ if you don’t want one. Or ‘colour’ might be your theme!

Make Sure the Old is Not Past It

One rule I live by when getting out my decorations, especially the old ones, is to make sure they have not passed their use-by date. If your decorations are old or vintage, this is a sad fact of life. They just don’t last forever, no matter how careful you are when storing them. The wreath below was made in 1997 by one of my students. I don’t get it out every year but I feel it ties in with my handmade theme for 2020. The first thing I did was to check the condition. Because it has cinnamon sticks and bay leaves in the construction it could easily have been ready to throw out but quite often a couple of elements can be replaced and the decoration will look as good as new. This one is in great condition and looks lovely with my orange garland. It also ties in with the red and white I’ve used on my tree.

Mix Old and New Christmas Decor Using the 60/30/10 Rule

One of the best decorating rules ever invented is the 60/30/10 Rule. I use it not only to make decisions on room colours and accessories but also so decorate for Christmas and to mix old and new. Basically, if you are mixing old decorations and new ones don’t have a 50/50 mix. The brain likes to have dominant themes and the eye does not know what that is if you have the same amount of every colour you use. Think of one as the main decorating element and the other as the feature or accessory.

Add new pieces to freshen up the Old

I love to add new bits to freshen up my Christmas look. I also love to change where and how I use my decorations so they look fresh. This old garland is well and truly vintage but I’ve mixed in a few new baubles and made an orange garland to give it a new look. Last year I had star lights for a garland. These are on the tree this year. All these pieces, I’ve had for years but each year I think of new ways to use them. This saves me money and allows me to display decorations I love. It also lets me sprinkle a touch of new. On our dresser, below, I’ve used the old wooden stars I love, but added ribbon and some little gold balls to make the stars feel more current.

Find a New Way to Use Old Accessories

This is one of my favourite things to do. I love reinventing the wheel by turning a summer wreath into a Christmas one or something. This year, I used my old Christmas quilt as a tablecloth instead of a wall hanging. I put out a cake plate, a candle and a jar of vintage baubles with twinkle lights. Think outside the box. It’s amazing how old decorations can look lovely when you give them a new purpose. Once you add in a few new pieces you’ve collected the look is stunning.